Headteachers told by union to avoid NHS and go private

THE union that represents Britain's headteachers has told members to use private hospitals because the NHS cannot be relied upon to treat them adequately.

The National Association of Head Teachers warns that "ward closures, bungled diagnoses and ever-lengthening waiting lists" mean that staff who need to return to work swiftly should avoid the NHS. It says the Government has "not done enough" to improve the health service and says that until ministers deliver their promises "going private is the only answer".

The decision by such a high-profile group of public sector workers to reject the NHS will embarrass the Government as it seeks to counter criticism of its failure to improve the health service. It comes days after Alan Milburn, the Health Secretary, announced that private hospitals would be used to treat NHS patients in an attempt to reduce bed shortages and waiting lists.

The NAHT has arranged a private health care deal for its 30,000 members, which it says will enable them to receive the treatment they should get from the NHS. The NAHT's instruction comes in a magazine sent to its members.

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David Hart, NAHT general secretary, added: "Head teachers can't afford to be hanging around waiting for NHS operations when they need to be treated urgently so they can be back into school doing their jobs. "The NHS ought to be able to provide the fast treatment which all people deserve. But, clearly, it is not able to do that. Until the NHS can deliver it is inevitable that people turn to private health care."

Mr Hart also criticised the Government's handling of the NHS. It had spent "long enough" analysing the problems and now needed to achieve real improvements. "I think the Government suffers from the fact that it is seeking to persuade the electorate that it is doing something, when the reality is that it has not done enough. The time has come for the Government to deliver."

Theresa May, the shadow education secretary, seized on the decision as evidence that Government health care policies had failed. "This is an indictment of the Government and its failure with the NHS," she said. It shows the reality that people feel they cannot trust the NHS. Whatever ministers may say, whatever spin they may try to put upon it, people feel that the NHS is not meeting their needs."

The Royal College of Nursing, however, defended the Government, saying: "We believe that there is real potential in what the Government is doing and that the NHS could, in future, provide the services which the public wants." Other teaching unions warned that failure to improve the NHS risked the creation of a two-tier system.

Peter Smith, the general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said while individuals should be free to use private health, the NAHT's comments highlighted why improvements to the NHS were needed. Mr Smith said: "We want to see an NHS which can deliver the fast, efficient treatment that people, including teachers, need. The Government must improve the NHS to ensure that it does not become a service only for those people who cannot afford to go elsewhere."

The Department of Health said: "We are aware that waiting times can be too long and we are working to improve that. But the NHS does employ highly-trained professionals who ensure that it delivers a top quality service."